FragDolls Casting Call Update

Remember the Fragdolls? A deliciously hawt bunch of ladies who we once beat in a Humpday Challenge which is something they have never forgiven us for. Well, they're recruiting a new member, and the results are going to be aired for all to see.

This week's update is concerned primarily with updating the matchmaking playlists. Harold and Joe are headed to New Zealand and there's really not much going on this week - at least much that I can talk about that is.

Find out what sci-fi inspires the Bungie crew, what they're reading, watching and playing. This is also a pretty useful shopping list for folks interested in delving into the incredible wealth of sci-fi entertainment out there. With the exception of Leprechaun 4, that is...

Tuesday forum maintenance (COMPLETE)

Updated 1:40pm PDT: The maintenance has been completed and everything should be working normally again.

On Tuesday morning, we will be doing some maintenance on the forums. During this time, the forums and private messaging will be disabled.

Updated 1:40pm PDT: The maintenance has been completed and everything should be working normally again.

This maintenance is currently scheduled to start around 9am PDT and last approximately 4 hours. After the maintenance, you should not notice any changes, as the maintenance is to improve speed on the forums, not for adding features.

The Bungie Weekly Update takes the form of a Q&A this week, since there's nothing much new to report. But we did answer every question we could, as long as it had nothing to do with Our Next Project. And yep, that icon to your left is from the Halo Graphic Novel.

Win an autographed Halo 2 Volume 2 Soundtrack!

We've teamed up with our friends at Halo.Bungie.Org to offer another exciting contest with a chance for 7 lucky people to win signed copies of the new Halo 2 soundtrack before it's available in stores. Check out the HBO contest page for full details!

As part of our somewhat regular tradition, we've teamed up with HBO once again to offer up another chance for Halo fans to win cool stuff. This time around, the focus is on the music of Halo 2 and the prize is a copy of the new volume 2 soundtrack, signed by Marty O'Donnell.

To enter, you just need to get creative and make a cool picture that features your Halo action figures in interesting scenes that are inspired by/related to track listings from the soundtracks. You can read the full rules and details over at HBO.

The entry deadline is Sunday, 4/16/06 at 9 PM PST.

The Halo 2 Volume 2 soundtrack is the long awaited sequel to the award winning volume 1 soundtrack featuring original music composed and scored by Marty O'Donnell and Mike Salvatori. It will officially be available in stores and online on April 25th. If you haven't picked up the Halo 2 Vol. 1 soundtrack yet, or even the Halo 1 soundtrack, you can grab both of those at retailers or iTunes. Every purchase made goes towards helping Marty afford those expensive prescription drugs that his Medicare just won't cover.

We chat with modelmaker and engineering student, Iain "Dalteth" Nelson about his superb modelmaking skills, as he turns ordinary Warhammer miniatures, into custom-built Halo character (and vehicle) replicas.

David Candland's Flash-y Interface

Bungie's UI demigod, David Candland, is interviewed over at Macromedia's developer site. You can go read the interview HERE and find out how Dave uses Macromedia Director to prototype interface designs.

It's fascinating stuff if you're into user interface, GUIs or anything that let's you interact with machines. Go check it out.

Crazy Site Shenanigans

As our website goes through some significant upgrades this week, you may notice some odd things. Maps aren't working right, stats are all crazy, and you can't use "fake" html when submitting news stories because we replaced that with the cool new WYSIWYG editor. Don't worry, it's all being taken care of.

And on a side note, congrats and thanks to Tom, Zach, Doug and Roger on implementing these awesome changes. They're going to make life a lot easier for yours truly. And note that you can now see your Gamercard on the site (if you're logged into Bungie.net and you've linked your Gamertag.)

Nothing to see here folks, oh, apart from the end of a long and complicated cruel prank, a cool little audio preview of Marty's Vol. 2 soundtrack and oh yeah. Nothing about our next project. Nothing at all.

Limited Edition Mylars Now Available!

Get yourself a piece of gaming history. [url=http://www.bungiestore.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=14&idproduct=420]Our limited edition of 500 mylar prints[/url] by Bungie artist Eddie Smith are now available at [url=http://www.bungiestore.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=14&idproduct=420]The Bungie Store.[/url]

For less than $30 you get a signed masterpiece, featuring Chief battling a humongous Scarab. What are you waiting for? These will sell out very shortly. [url=http://www.bungiestore.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=14&idproduct=420]Read all about them and order them right HERE[/url]

Halo Archives

Seemed to have misplaced your S2 AM Sniper Rifle manual or maybe that directions to recharge those batteries on your favorite sword? Maybe just a little background information on your latest Admiral? Then you should jump into the wealth of knowledge gathered by three Halo fanatics at [url=http://haloarchives.net/] Haloarchives.net.[/url]

Can't find that voicemail Cortana left you or the little to-do list Keyes wanted you to complete before jumping ship? Or maybe some deep rooted Conversations from the Universe that seemed to have simply escaped your desktop? Three Halo fans have painstakingly gathered the largest assortment of Halo related text, information and other interesting tid-bits all organized into a nifty archive conveniently called [url=http://haloarchives.net/] Haloarchives.net.[/url]
Jump right into the Halo Archives to read complete read outs on Human and Covenant technology, characters and just about anything you could possibly want to know about the Halo series. This website is not only composed of text based information but also plenty of images to tickle your fancy. Another neat feature of this website is it also allows members to contribute to the humongous wealth of knowledge.
So what are you waiting for? Jump into [url=http://haloarchives.net/] Haloarchives.net.[/url] and discover something you haven't before!
[i]Slightly edited by Yoozel [/i]

Halo 2 Soundtrack, Vol. 2 Release Date

Yeah we know. Embarassingly long and tortuous delay in announcing the release date and after all that, we were scooped by just about everyone. The Halo 2 Soundtrack, Vol. 2 will (FINALLY) be released on April 25th.

Here's the official blurb:
[b]Sumthing Else Music Works Announces Release of the HALO 2 Volume Two Original Soundtrack [/b]
Sumthing Else Music Works, Inc., through its licensing relationship with Microsoft Game Studios, proudly presents Halo® 2: Original Soundtrack Volume Two. The highly anticipated Volume Two soundtrack will be released on April 25th to US retail outlets through Nile Rodgers' Sumthing Else Music Works label, the industry leader for licensing and distributing video game soundtracks.
The Halo 2: Original Soundtrack Volume Two CD features nearly 70 minutes of award-winning compositions by Bungie Studios' Audio Director Martin O'Donnell and his writing partner Michael Salvatori, the composers behind the best-selling Halo® 2: Original Soundtrack Volume One and Halo®: Combat Evolved Original Soundtrack. The signature guitar sounds of revered rock guitarist Steve Vai also make an appearance, courtesy of Epic Records, and the album is produced by veteran music producer and Sumthing Else label founder Nile Rodgers.
Commenting on the back-story to the Volume Two soundtrack release, Martin O'Donnell said, "In the summer of 2004 Nile Rodgers and I decided that it would be a good idea to present the music of Halo 2 in two separate volumes. The first volume would contain all the music that was finished and mixed plus some 'inspired by' music from groups whose music was being used in the game."
Since the first Halo 2 soundtrack was assembled before the game actually shipped, it was always envisaged that the second volume would contain the rest of the game's music, some of which Martin O'Donnell was still composing and producing, and would be rearranged for maximum listening pleasure.
"The music in Halo 2 will play back a little differently each time someone plays the game, explains O'Donnell, "But on the soundtrack I have the opportunity to arrange the music in an album format. For Halo 2 Volume Two I decided to use a 'suite' structure that also corresponds to the chapters within the game. In a sense by listening to this soundtrack you will hear the musical representation on the story of Halo 2. Enjoy!"

Get Yer Sweatshirts Here!

New sweatshirts are available at the [url=http://www.bungiestore.com/productcart/pc/viewCat_h.asp?idCategory=8]Bungie Store[/url] and they're super-swass. We suggest you buy one of each for maximum coolness. Click [url=http://www.bungiestore.com/productcart/pc/viewCat_h.asp?idCategory=8]HERE[/url] to see and buy.

No for reals, [url=http://www.bungiestore.com/productcart/pc/viewCat_h.asp?idCategory=8]GO BUY ONE NOW!!![/url]

More Marty Music Madness

Marty music (the Halo soundtrack) will be played at the upcoming [url=http://www.videogameslive.com/index.php?s=dates]Video Games Live[/url] concert in San Jose, this Friday, March 24th. Not only will the music be played by a talented and capable orchestra, but Marty himself will be there to sign your boobs.

Other soundtracks played at this event will include, Advent Rising, Myst, Mario and other favorites. You can find more information and snap up those last minute tickets [url=http://www.videogameslive.com/index.php?s=dates]HERE[/url].

Everyone is golden!

Got a 360 but haven't taken the plunge into the deep-end of the pool? Silver membership privileges feeling a bit "confining"? Still uncertain that the new XBL is worth it?
Then mark your calendars. March 31 - April 2 is the first XBL Gold free weekend.

The Xbox 360 came with an upgraded XBL. All owners were given Silver-level membership to the new XBL. Many owners of the new consoles simply migrated their XBL-classic accounts to Gold-level memberships.
But there are more than a few gamers out there who only have what came in the box, and that is a Silver membership. While it does allow for DLC, updates and other perks, the inability to play Live-enabled games is a restriction.
The weekend of March 31st through April 2nd, all Silver members of XBL get a free upgrade to Gold-level membership. That's 72 hours to try, play, and really kick the tires of the new system. Sponsored by Verizon (who seems to have a very interesting FiOS system... that is Fiber-Optic broadband... yes indeed. Online gaming at light-speed) the weekend should prove to be interesting.
Tons more information on [url=http://www.xbox.com/en-US/promotions/livegoldweekend/default.htm][u]XBL's page[/u][/url]. Could this spell the end for the much loved and much hated 2 month free trial cards? Let's wait and see!
Oh yeah, and what game is on their [url=http://www.xbox.com/en-US/promotions/livegoldweekend/schedule.htm][u]calendar[/u][/url] to kick off and close out the festivities? Something with some Chief guy.... so it's not just 360 games in the free weekend.